Five arrested, R3m worth of copper recovered
Police in Gauteng have arrested five undocumented foreign nationals and recovered stolen copper cables worth approximately R3 million during a raid on an unregistered scrapyard in De Deur, south of Johannesburg.
The operation, carried out on Wednesday, was led by the Sedibeng Infrastructure Unit in collaboration with Gauteng Traffic Wardens and private security companies.
Acting on intelligence, the team raided the scrapyard where they discovered large quantities of copper cable believed to have been stolen from State-Owned Enterprise, Transnet.
Investigators also seized homemade stoves allegedly used to burn insulation off the copper before re-sale.
Transnet later positively identified the recovered cable as part of its critical infrastructure, linking the bust to ongoing thefts that have crippled rail operations across the province.
Police spokesperson Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that all five suspects were undocumented foreign nationals.
"They are expected to appear in the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court soon on charges of possession of stolen infrastructure, contravention of the Second-Hand Goods Act, and violations of the Immigration Act.
"This successful operation sends a strong message that police will continue to dismantle networks targeting essential infrastructure."
Police say the arrests form part of an intensified crackdown on non-ferrous metal theft, which has caused severe disruptions to electricity supply, railway operations, and communication services.
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